Joseph Bonney, Senior Editor | Jul 02, 2012 10:08AM EDT
Matson Inc. stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange Monday after the ocean carrier and logistics company’s separation from longtime parent Alexander & Baldwin.
Alexander & Baldwin split its transportation business from its Hawaii-based land and agriculture business this year, distributing new shares to stockholders of record on June 18. The distribution took effect June 29 and the first day of regular trading was July 2.
Matson had been an A&B subsidiary since 1969. Matson’s stock will trade on the NYSE under the symbol MATX. The company said there would be no change to its operations or executive staff, headed by CEO Matt Cox.
Founded in 1882, Matson Navigation Co. pioneered containerized shipping in the trans-Pacific when it began carrying boxes aboard its ships between the U.S. and Hawaii in 1958. The company was among the pioneers of trans-Pacific containerization, launching the first container service to Japan in September 1967.
Today Matson is the dominant carrier in the domestic Jones Act trades to and from Hawaii and Guam and has an express service from China to Southern California. The company’s Matson Logistics unit, established in 1987, provides rail intermodal, highway brokerage and warehousing services.
The company’s fleet of 17 ships includes container ships, combination container and roll-on, roll-off vessels and custom-designed barges.
Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JosephBonney.
